


Episode Two:  The Soldier and the Sparkling

by keirajo



Series: Transformers: Star Voyager [3]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Cute, Guardian-Ward Relationship, protoform birth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-19 22:26:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14882381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keirajo/pseuds/keirajo
Summary: It's been four million years since Ultra Magnus was sent to the colony world of Corona to recover from his PTSD.  In that time, Magnus lost contact with Cybertron and his Prime--remembering Sentinel Prime's final words to him, to protect Corona, he becomes a citizen of the world by doing exactly what the law is making him do............adopt a sparkling.





	Episode Two:  The Soldier and the Sparkling

**Author's Note:**

> General figure/frame notes:  
> Ultra Magnus/Magnus--his design in this series is based upon the Generations "Reveal the Shield" figure that came in a two-pack with Skywarp. I adore this "Optimus Prime-ish" version of Magnus, to be honest--it has the basic Prime look, but I love the fact they gave it the extra colors of blue and gray/black so it's more than just a white Optimus Prime.  
> Rad--from the Action Master toyline. Who ever bought Transformers that don't transform? I kinda disliked this gimmick and never bought any as a result. *laughs*  
> Sprocket--also from the Action Master toyline, he had a "battle vehicle" and a helm that reminded me a little bit like a wolf's head. *chuckle*
> 
> Extra: I hope you packed your toothbrush--you'll need it after you read the ending. XD

**_ Episode Two:  The Soldier and the Sparkling _ **

 

 

            Time passed, as it _always_ would.  Nearly four million years had passed since Magnus had been sent to the colony world of Corona.  Over that time, as Sentinel Prime had predicted, his datamail reports had ceased coming.   Though Magnus had politely asked the governmental trine, they never outright said anything which could find its way to the public—so, they had basically politely declined to tell Magnus anything more than he’d received in the datamails from Sentinel.   But things do leak, eventually, and Magnus had heard rumours that the spacebridge could no longer connect to Cybertron.

            Throughout the reports he had received from his Prime, however, Magnus had learned a good deal about what had happened within the first two million years of his relocation to Corona.

            The Pride of Megatronus cult had gained more traction and more members—as well as eventually changing their name to the “ ** _Decepticons_** ”.  The nameless gladiator who had become the face of the cult, he had given himself the name “ ** _Megatron_** ”—while his patron, Liege Maximo, finally made his move against the Council of Primes.  The war had started, spreading like wildfire across Cybertron.

            The local law enforcement of various cities and Cybertron’s own military units were not enough.  Cybertron descended into chaos.   Members of the fallen and disbanded law enforcement offices, as well as military members, formed their own coalition against the Decepticons.   The downtrodden masses, in fear of the violence the Decepticons brought with them, and those who still believed in the Council of Primes and Cybertron…………the weak and the poor, as well as the followers of Prima—the prophet of Primus—joined in, too.  All of them banded together and called themselves the “ ** _Autobots_** ”.

            _Autobots versus Decepticons_.

            **_Civil war._**

            And the Council of Primes **_fell_**.

            Any contact Magnus did have with his Prime during his recovery on Corona was severed when the spacebridge stopped functioning.   Corona was left on its own.  So, Sentinel Prime’s final words were etched deep in Magnus’ Spark:

 

            _“I want you to remain where you are and protect the world of Corona.”_

            Magnus would follow his Prime’s words, _always_.

            However, now, today………..we find another new day dawning on the colony world of Corona.  Let us begin the day at a special place called “ ** _The Well_** ”, which was also referred to as a nursery—for once every thousand years or so, a small bit of the contained hotspot area would flare into life.   The fertile ground kept its own time for births, only allowing parts of its essence to flare at given moments in time.  At which about a dozen new Sparks would flare into life, to be counted by the caretakers of The Well—then the information would be handed over to the leadership trine of the world to deal with.

            For the colony of Corona had its own unique way of raising the protoforms that came from the newly ignited Sparks in The Well………once the protoforms were able to be removed from The Well, they were fostered by _those who were **single**_ —ones without bondings or pairings.  The reasoning behind this rule was so that a sparkling could have a devoted guardian—a guardian who had no other personal obligations and could focus _everything_ on raising a sparkling.

            So, back to today…………

            Sprocket, one of the two current caretakers of The Well, paced around the circular raised walkway of the fertile birthing ground.   Something caught his eye—something he had _not_ noticed before and believed that his partner had not noticed it either.

            “Say, Rad…………” the white-and-gold mech murmured, rubbing at one of his blunted-point helm finials as he squatted down on the walkway.  “I think we have an unaccounted for Spark…….” he trailed off.

            Rad glanced up from his datapad.  He was on the other side of the room, hovering around where the most recent cluster of Sparks had ignited in the fertile ground.   He seemed puzzled, Sparks _always_ ignited in clusters—there just couldn’t be a singular one in the field, _ever_!   The red-and-silver caretaker of The Well walked around to the northeast edge where his lover was knelt.

            “Here, love…………this tiny one,” the gentle-voiced Sprocket murmured, pointing at the brilliant blue Spark that was somewhat hidden by a clump of the ancient substance of The Well’s fertile birthing ground.

            “By Primus, look at how _bright_ this tiny one is!”  Rad whispered, softly, staring over his beloved’s shoulders.  “I’ve never seen one like this before, so tiny and so very brilliant.”  Rad briskly walked over to the communication station near the entryway of the area.   He called the Administrative Offices to alert the leadership trine to find them one more guardian—another Spark had been found.  Rad also mentioned the unusual look of the newly discovered Spark, in case they wanted to find a _special_ guardian for this one.

            The case went directly to Corona’s leadership trine of Landmine, Waverider and Metalhawk.  Previously they had already sent out the notices for the cluster that had ignited to the intended guardians they had chosen—however, they were all from other cities.  None were from the capital city of Lumiere.

            “I wish to point out that it has been four million years since Magnus came here,” Metalhawk said, firmly, tapping the edge of his datapad.  “He is single and he fits our rules for sparkling fostering.  Magnus also has great patience and a strong desire to protect things—if this small Spark is indeed one of the rare, special ones.  Then I can honestly think of no one else with a better profile,” the gold-and-blue mech responded.

            Landmine clicked his glossa, shaking his head and waggling a finger at Metalhawk.  “We promised Sentinel Prime that the specific rules of Corona would never apply to his precious Ultra Magnus—after all, he is meant to one day go back to Cybertron!”  The white-and-red mech chided.

            The third of the trine, a blue-and-silver mech named Waverider, folded his hands before him.  “The Prime said we were _on our own_ in his final message to us.  He threw a femme through the gate with some items that we were to hold on to until they were needed.  If we’re on our own—then Nitro and Ultra Magnus belong to Corona now.  Both of them go by _other names_ now, as well—which should represent their new lives as citizens of Corona.  Therefore, our rules now apply to them,” he said, his deep voice even and unemotional.  “The spacebridge was destroyed from Cybertron’s side and none of the colony spacebridges connect to each other,” Waverider added, very seriously.

            “We need to think about the health and safety of the sparkling,” Landmine sighed, already sensing that he was being outvoted on the matter.  “That’s really the _only thing_ that matters right here and right now.”

            Metalhawk looked down at his datapad, swiping through the screens to get back to Magnus’ biofile, records and data.   He reviewed Magnus’ service record at the First Precinct in Lumiere, a law enforcement division……..as well as what data there was from Magnus’ service as “Ultra Magnus” in the Voyager Class unit back on Cybertron.   Magnus, himself, had been fairly young when Sentinel Prime had sent him to Corona.  Sentinel’s notes said he was unsure of Magnus’ exact age and birthdate, but he was very certain that Magnus had not even reached his first century.  For someone so very young to have suffered such battle trauma was truly an unfair fate, but since he had come to Corona it had been noted that his episodes of PTSD had slowly eased over the centuries.   Siren, the commander of the First Precinct, had reported less than a handful of really bad bouts in the past decade—but they were truly rare anymore.  Magnus had served Lumiere’s police force with honor and distinction, with Siren noting that he was one of the most honest and humble mechs he’d ever met.

            “I believe Magnus—and we must call him _‘Magnus’_ , for he is no longer _‘Ultra Magnus’_ —will be the best guardian we can choose for this small Spark,” Metalhawk said, firmly.  “As Waverider pointed out, we are on our own.  Magnus _belongs_ to Corona, so it’s time for his Spark to join his body here on this world—a sparkling will expand his worldview.”

            “But what about his PTSD?  You don’t feel that raising a sparkling might trigger it—given that the event that may have well caused him that trouble was the deaths of all those younglings on Cybertron?”  Landmine argued back, not quite ready to give up on this matter.

            “Conversely, I’d like to point out that taking care of a sparkling might finally help him break through that trauma,” Waverider pointed out.  “He’s been teaching self-defense courses in his free time for the past million years and he’s had a lot of first frames in his classes.  I think having a youngling to care for will help him heal some of that old pain.”

            “I’m not going to win and I’m outvoted, _clearly_ ,” Landmine sighed.  “Go ahead, but I just hope we aren’t making things worse for Magnus and that it will not turn out badly for the sparkling,” he added, waving a hand dismissively.

            “Now that this matter is settled, we’ll send out a notice to Magnus to report to The Well in four weeks,” Metalhawk said with a nod.  “Let’s move on to the next order of business, shall we?”

 

*      *      *      *      *

 

            Magnus had received the notice from the Administrative Office and was puzzled by it.  He had heard very little of this particular law of Corona and had resorted to asking some of his co-workers about it.  He also read up on the law and the history of it—as well as finding plenty of reading materials about raising a sparkling.  Siren had just laughed warmly at Magnus and told him he would make a wonderful guardian.  He set about the paperwork to give Magnus a two-year paid leave status, as all new sparkling guardians were given—it was a planetary law, after all.  After two years, a sparkling should be ready for day-care—because they should have their first frame by then.

            At least that’s what all the reading materials had said.

            But…………was Magnus ready for something like _this_?   Was he ready to take care of a youngling that he didn’t have to hand off back to a guardian after a few hours…………?

            As Magnus pondered these things the next four weeks, he’d had occasional old memories bubble back up in his thought-processor.  He remembered Sentinel Prime finding him in the depths of Iacon, trying to climb into a refuse bin on the streets.  He’d been older than a newborn, but not by that long.  For some reason, Magnus could never remember anything before that day………and the flame-colored mech who picked him up and took him home.   Memories after that were hazy, but colored with nothing but fondness.

            If Sentinel Prime could raise a sparkling like Magnus, then the former soldier with a blue-white frame decided that the very least he could do would be to follow his Prime’s lead.   He would focus and give his all to raise and teach this sparkling to be a very good mech…………or femme.  He would teach the sparkling everything Sentinel Prime had taught to him……..and everything he’d learned since coming to Corona.

            Before Magnus realized it, four weeks passed and he was asked to report to The Well.  As he walked up the neatly paved pathway, he passed three citizens leaving the building, each with a sparkling in their arms.  The small protoforms were rounded shapes and with a silvery dermal layer, each protoform had vivid yellow optic orbs in their expressionless faceplates.   It was hard to believe how **_tiny_** they were…………..!

            While Magnus sat patiently in the waiting room, he held polite conversations with others waiting in the room with him.  There were two very cheerful femmes and Magnus couldn’t help but stare a little bit.  He hadn’t known many femmes back on Cybertron and had only seen a few since he’d come here to Corona, but never really had much of any interaction with any of them.  They both told him that they had come from Caprica, by way of Cybertron relocation transfers…………both felt they never really slotted in on Caprica and tried to live for a while on Cybertron before Solus Prime granted their relocation request and sent them to Corona.  They had arrived right before the Pride of Megatronus cult had renamed themselves the Decepticons.

            So……..they had been on Cybertron when he was, but arrived on Corona later than he had.  The two femmes were _very excited_ about having sparklings to raise on their own.  They mentioned how on Caprica, all femmes lived in blended or extended family groups, generally called “harems”—so all sparklings were raised by the group, which only got bigger over the centuries.  It seemed the exact opposite of Corona.  Magnus had desperately wanted to ask them about Cybertron, but they were so happy and excited about the prospect of raising sparklings, so he chose not to ruin the mood for them.

            Then the caretakers called for Magnus, finally.  The blue-white mech followed the red-and-silver one, who introduced himself as Rad.

            “Are you ready for a protoform?  Did you buy Energon-formula and a cradle?”  Rad asked, his multi-layered voice friendly and happy.

            “Yes, I had some assistance from my co-workers and the reading material they all provided me with,” Magnus responded, dipping his shoulders in a polite bow.

            “The sparkling will be very small for a while—in fact, a mech of your size could _probably_ fit the little one in the palm of your hand for a few months,” Rad chuckled warmly.

            “I promise I will be careful,” Magnus agreed, nodding.  “About the name, however—is it _really_ all right to leave the sparkling unnamed for two years?”  The former soldier asked, curiously.

            “As we’ve learned, it’s always best to wait until they get their first frame before giving them a name.  That way it will be better suited to their frame, their personality and their alt mode—rather than having them wait what seems like an eternity to get their lifetime frame and want so badly to change their name!”  Rad responded with a warm and gentle laugh.

            “Yes, I see.  That makes sense,” Magnus murmured.

            “Giving them _cute little nicknames_ is perfectly all right, though,” the silver-red mech added, grinning up at Magnus.

            Magnus chuckled softly.  He looked around the large room that Rad had brought him to………..the walkway around the fertile birthing ground looked to be a type which could be raised or lowered by a mechanism.  Right now it was lowered to be on a more even level with the ancient substance of the birthing ground.  Rad drew him around to the northeast edge.  In the west quadrant, a white-and-gold mech was coaching one of the femmes that Magnus had been talking to in the waiting room.

            “I think this little one will be very happy with you as a guardian,” Rad said, kindness in his voice and rippling off his field.  “Just kneel and speak softly to the little one—the words don’t need to make any sense, they just need to be _soft_ and **_sensitive_**.”

            Magnus knelt down and looked at the small protoform sitting in the ancient substance of the birthing ground.  It was silver and round—a round body with a round head, as well as small stumps that would eventually become arms and legs.  The thing that caught Magnus’ attention straight off were the optic orbs.  Unlike the protoforms he’d seen people leaving with, **_this one’s_** optic orbs were _blue_ —not yellow.   He didn’t know what that meant, if it was supposed to mean anything at all, but as soon as he looked into the blue optic orbs—he felt a sudden connection to this tiny being.

            Gently, Magnus reached one of his dark blue hands out, keeping his palm and fingers relaxed.  “Little star, would you like to come home with me?”  Magnus asked, softly, his deeper voice reverberating in his vocalizer.

            The protoform looked at Magnus’ hand and reached out an arm stump to a dark blue finger.   Then the sparkling tried to fit Magnus’ very large forefinger into its very tiny mouth hole.   The little protoform seemed very puzzled that it couldn’t make Magnus’ finger fit into its mouth.

            Magnus felt the rumbling laughter in his chest, struggling to be set free by his vocalizer.  It was hard to believe that even he had been _this small_ once.  He wondered if he acted like this towards Sentinel Prime when he was a tiny sparkling?   What did his Prime think of him as a protoform?

            “Well, little star?  Are you ready to come home with me?”  Magnus asked again, smiling down at the protoform—he had been extra careful not to wear his traditional warrior’s facial shield today.

            The sparkling was still busy trying to figure out how to fit Magnus’ finger into its mouth.

            “I’m going to assume this is a _‘yes’_ , hmm?”  Magnus chuckled warmly, looking up at Rad for confirmation.

            “Indeed.   I took photos of this, by the way—in case you’d like to blackmail the child once they get to their tantruming stage,” Rad answered, making a fun little parenting joke.  “Seriously, however—I did take pictures and I’ll mail them out to you, purely for scrapbooking  purposes,” he added as Magnus scooped a hand underneath the protoform very gently, letting it stay “attached” as it was to his other hand’s forefinger.  Rad snapped a few more photos with his datapad and then escorted them back to the waiting room for final paperwork and details.

 

*      *      *      *      *

 

            Magnus arrived home safely with his brand new bundle of life.  The former soldier lived on the edge of the capital city of Lumiere, in an old hab block.  It looked like it had been the home of a “family” once—perhaps a single who had gotten a sparkling and then later on found a lover/mate.   The house, itself, had several luxurious rooms……..three smaller rooms that were clearly for personal berths and space.  There was a single, massive cleansing room that had both a washrack and a very large tub.   And there was a meal preparation room with a few different kinds of storage coolers, plus an off-set smaller room with a table to eat at.   The main gathering room, however, was the largest room in the whole hab block.  The previous tenants had also, oddly, left all their furniture—a generous couch and several large lounging chairs………….there were luxurious berths in each of the personal rooms, as well.

            Besides all this amazing stuff—the hab block also had a gymnasium attached to it.  It was that particular addition to the living area that had inspired Magnus to teach self-defense classes.  As Magnus had learned, here on Corona, there were very few types of weapons here………there were _no guns_ anywhere at all, the only projectile weapon on the entire planet was an energy bow—with _non-lethal bolts_.  Most weapons on the planet were of the blunt, staff-like types.  Edged weapons like knives and swords existed, but were _forbidden_ —and the fines were extremely hefty if you were found with them.  The most common type of weapon on this colony world…….?  The _personal frame_ —hence self-defense courses were extremely popular.

            After being confronted with the huge hab block and the gym—Magnus had a feeling that Sentinel Prime secured this whole area specifically for him.  It would be very like his Prime—he cared deeply about his Voyager Class soldiers.  Though he felt guilty at having all this space to himself, he blessed his Prime for caring about him—even when he could not be around.

            “Hello, little star………would you like some Energon?”  Magnus asked, peeking into the cradle that he had put on the gathering room’s couch.  The former soldier was holding up a sparkling’s feeder cup.

            The tiny protoform looked up at him, curiously, laying on its back and just aimlessly waving its stumpy limbs.  But then the limbs gained a slight bit of coordination as they all waved up at Magnus.  The blue-and-white mech had a feeling that the sparkling was more interested in trying to chew on his finger some more, over the actual feeder cup.   That thought made him chuckle.

            Magnus sat down beside the cradle on the couch and gently scooped up the sparkling into the palm of his free hand, then he slowly moved the nub of the feeder cup towards the little one’s mouth.  The protoform reached with a stump towards Magnus’ fingers that were holding the cup.

            _Yeaaaaaaaaaaah_ …….still very focused on those fingers.

            Magnus held the feeder cup up towards his own mouth—and since the desired fingers went with it, the sparkling’s blue optic orbs followed the motion and it was soon staring at Magnus’ face.  Now would come the fun part—faking taking a sip to encourage the protoform to do the same.

            But Magnus managed to do it and the protoform instantly made grabby-hands with its tiny stumps towards the feeder cup.  The former soldier chuckled and brought the feeder cup back down to the sparkling’s mouth hole.  Once the tiny one tasted the Energon-formula inside, the sparkling was hooked and latched on seriously, suckling loudly.

            // ** _happiness_** \\\

            Beneath the dark blue tempered glass of his optic coverings, Magnus’ optic orbs irised wide open, setting free a brighter glow from their depths.  The tiny one had an EM field _already_!  Long ago, Magnus had blocked off and locked down his own EM field—as a soldier, you could _not ever_ afford to even let your field accidentally leak and be sensed by others.   None of the Voyager Class unit used their fields—only perhaps _recreationally_ , when off duty, but _never_ when they were on duty at all.   He always wondered………….kind of what it felt like………..the touch of fields against one another……?

            A bit hesitantly, Magnus unlocked his EM field and let it ripple out a little bit to bump the sparkling’s wobbly EM field.

            // ** _happy_** \\\         Magnus’ field rippled the simple emotions.        // ** _joy_** \\\

            // ** _LOVE_** \\\          The sparkling’s small field responded with an intense bubbling sensation.

            Magnus’ Spark throbbed and spun with joy in his chest.  _Love._   The sparkling already understood such a simple-yet-so-complex emotion.  **_Love._**    While Magnus had never been certain of Sentinel Prime’s feelings towards him, he realized he never truly experienced pure, true love of any kind until right this very instant.

            It was…………..beyond comparison to anything he’d ever felt before in his life.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope your teeth don't hurt too much...............because the next episode is even more ridiculously adorably sweet. *chuckle*
> 
> I am [not] sorry. XD


End file.
